Beating Heart
by Envytastic
Summary: Atem went to the hospital to get an infection checked out. He came home with something entirerly different. Yami hears that his older brother might not have long left to live. Based on a disease that recently took my aunts life. Eventually puzzleshipping. AU
1. I Infection

**Main story warnings:** Character death  
**Story rating: **Rated T

**Chapter title: **Infection**  
****Word count: **4.062**  
****Chapter: **1/4**  
****Chapter summary: **Atem went to the hospital for an infection. He came home with something else.  
**Chapter warnings: **-  
**Pairings: **-  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

_**This story will be separated in two parts. The first part is a tribute to my Aunt, who really had this disease. The second part is where the puzzleshipping will begin. I will tell where that happens. It was actually kind of a struggle for me to decide. I had this story in my mind already but instead of the disease, it was going to be an accident. I changed it in tribute of my Aunt and to tell others what she had to go through. But I really wanted to do this idea so I kept the Puzzleshipping in.**_

_**During the story you will see some underlined text. While most happenings are written like with what happened to my aunt, those underlined parts are the ones I will never ever forget. Those made such an impact on me. I apologize in advance if it's distracting and made reading difficult.**_

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

_Chapter 1: Infection_

It all started with an infection.

Yami closed the door behind him with a soft thud. No one was home but he wasn't surprised. His father had already told him the day before that he was taking his older brother Atem to the hospital. His brother had been very tired lately, their general practitioner had thought it was an infection and send them to a hospital to examine it more closely.

He walked to his room and dropped down on his bed. Yami wasn't worried at all. His brother was strong. A vibration came from his school bag. He fished out his phone and saw that he had a message from his best friend, Jounouchi.

_Wanna hang out at the arcade?_

His fingers rapidly touched the screen of his phone as he typed his reply.

_Nah, waiting for dad and Atem to return from hospital._

It didn't take too long for him to receive a reply.

_Kay keep me updated._

Yami and Atem, unlike most siblings, had no troubling sharing stuff. They shared their clothes, jewelry, friends, secrets. They didn't share rooms because their rooms were a little on the small side, but it was enough for them. Yami smiled slightly as he remembered how he would crawl into Atem's bed at night when he was afraid when they were younger. Eventually Atem would get scared as well and they would all sleep together with their father.

He absently played a couple of games on his smartphone till he heard the front door opening and closing. He quickly jumped off of his bed and went to the living room where he assumed his father and brother were.

Once he arrived there, he didn't quite like what he saw. Atem was crying and his father's head was cast down. "What's going on?" He asked. "What did they say." Atem sobbed harder after Yami's questions.

"Yami… sit down." His father sighed. Yami nodded and sat next to his brother, squeezing his brother's hand a little. Aknamkanon shook his head, sighing out of his nose. "They found a tumor."

The youngest in the room gasped, his mouth opening and closing, not able to say even one word. "W-where?" He finally uttered.

His father closed his eyes. Not trusting his voice, he pointed to his head. Atem was trembling like madly, his crying louder. The tanned teen threw himself on his little brother, holding him tightly. Yami immediately closed his arms around the other, just as tightly.

"Tell me you're joking." Yami demanded, his voice muffled by his brother's shoulder.

Aknamkanon sat beside his crying son, rubbing his back affectionately. "They're going to do a biopsy to see what kind it is, if it's malevolent or benevolent." Their father told.

"Where exactly is it?" Yami asked, slightly moving away from Atem to look at his father.

Aknamkanon swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "It's… in the middle. Right between his left and right lobe." He shook his head. "They said that there is a very small chance to remove it and a very big chance for…." His father couldn't even finish his sentence, continuing to rub Atem's back.

"For me to walk and talk normal." Atem finished. His crying had ceased but he was still sobbing continuously.

Yami shot up, turning to his brother and father. "You will be alright. I trust you." He said determinedly, sobbing himself. Atem smiled sadly at him.

"Thank you Yami." He said, wiping away his fallen tears.

Yami sat down next to Atem again, wrapping his arms around his shoulder and pulling him to rest on his chest. "I will stay by your side throughout the whole thing okay?" He said, petting his brother's hair. Atem nodded silently.

"When is the biopsy?" Yami asked, looking at their father.

"Tomorrow at eleven thirty am." His father answered. Yami nodded.

"I am coming too." Yami decided. His brother was a tad more important to him than school. His father hesitated at first but allowed him. Yami could miss a day school.

"So what exactly is going to happen?" Yami asked, softly running his thumb over the back of Atem's hand. It worked, for Atem had calmed down a lot. He was still breathing a little heavily and trembling.

Aknamkanon's eyes moved to Atem. He did not want to explain the procedure and scare Atem even more. The surgeon would tell Atem before the biopsy but he had already asked what was going to happen. Atem looked at his father and smiled slightly. "It's okay dad… I want to know as well."

"Are you sure?" He asked his son. Atem nodded. The father bit his lower lip. He really did not want to tell his son but he also didn't want to keep in in the dark. "Okay then. The doctor will drill a small hole in your skull. Then with a needle he will take some tissue from the tumor. They will analyze it in the laboratory what exactly it is." Atem looked really scared. Yami squeezed his hand.

"It might not even be a tumor. It's probably just a cyst or something." He tried to raise the mood.

"You're right." Atem said. He stood up from the couch, turning to his brother and father. He gave them a small smile. "I'm going to take a small nap okay? This all made me very tired." Yami just now noticed that Atem's eyes were swollen and he had bags under his eyes. Yami nodded and stood up as well.

"Let me tuck you in." He said. Atem laughed and lightly pushed him away.

"I'm the one who is supposed to tuck you in little brother." He replied with a wholehearted smile.

"I'm going to do it whether you want it or not." Yami said stubbornly and followed his brother to his room. He stopped by the door frame.

"Are you going to undress me and put on my pajama's too?" Atem joked, taking off his shirt.

"Nah, I'll give you that privilege."

"Are you seriously going to watch me undress?" Atem asked with a raised eyebrow. Yami just shrugged his shoulders.

"Not like I haven't seen you naked before." Atem rolled his eyes and changed into his pajamas. Yami walked over to him and pushed him on the bed. "Now sleep." He ordered, tucking Atem in. Atem smiled and closed his eyes. Yami waited by the bed for a little while. Atem's breathing had steadied so he knew his older brother was sleeping. Tumor or not, he knew this was going to be hard on his brother.

He silently walked out of the room and back to the living room. His father was pacing, phone to his ear. He decided not to disturb him and went to the kitchen. He wanted to make Atem's favorite dish to cheer him up some more.

He had already started cooking when his father entered the kitchen. "I just told your uncle and cousins about Atem." He sighed, sitting on the kitchen table. Yami glared at him.

"Nothing is for sure, you didn't have to tell them anything." He half snarled.

His father glared right back. "Yami, you and I both know that that is not a cyst." His father said. The boy just huffed and turned his back to his father, focusing on his cooking instead. "If only it was." He sighed, shaking his head.

Yami's shoulders slumped. Atem meant everything to him. "We can still hope it is." Yami croaked out. He heard the chair move and warm arms wrapped around him.

"We sure can." Aknamkanon sighed. Yami dropped his utensils and turned to his father.

"This is unfair!" Yami cried. "He was going to take me and our friends out to dinner for my birthday!" Aknamkanon lightly massaged Yami's nape. "He's just twenty dad… he isn't even legal to drink, let alone die." Yami cried. Aknamkanon shushed his youngest son.

"Calm down Yami, you don't want to wake him up." He whispered in Yami's ear. He moved away from his father when the smell of something burning reached his nose. He turned back to the stove where the chopped liver was.

"Great, you made me burn my liver." He muttered, throwing it away to start over.

"What are you making anyways?" His father asked, sitting back on the chair.

"Kebda." Yami answered.

"Atem's favorite." His father stated. Yami only nodded.

"Is the least I can do for him. I want him to face go through that with high spirits." He replied.

"Atem is incredibly lucky to have a brother like you. Yami did not answer and continued cooking.

When Atem woke up, dinner was ready. Yami had made lentil soup, kebda and white rice. "Yum." Atem hummed as his eyes feasted on the dishes Yami had made.

"Shut up and sit down." Yami said, starting to serve. Dinner was eaten in silence. It was slightly tense with the biopsy of tomorrow on their minds.

"Thanks Yami, it was delicious." Atem said with a smile. His plate was completely wiped clean. Yami chuckled. "Who's doing the dishes?" Both boys looked at their father who had stopped his fork mid-way.

"Fine." He sighed. Atem and Yami both smiled. "Atem, don't forget to shower with that shampoo." Aknamkanon reminded. Atem nodded. "And are you sure you're full? You know you can't eat anything after midnight." He nodded once more.

Yami and Atem both went to the older boy's room. Yami grabbed the bottle from Atem and sniffed at it.

"It stinks."

"I know."

The bottle label read 'antiseptic shampoo'. "Now are you going to leave or do you want to watch me shower as well?" Atem joked. Yami rolled his eyes and stood up from the bed.

"Fine, I'll be in my room if you look for me." Yami said, leaving the room. Atem sat down on his bed and looked at the bottle. With a big gulp, he undressed and went to the shower.

Yami tried to focus on his homework while Yami was in the shower but he just couldn't. This all was so… fucked up. He could not understand how Atem could have a tumor. He lived and ate healthy, he didn't smoke, didn't drink, got enough exercise. He slammed his books shut and shoved them back into his bag. It was only nine when he crawled into bed. This whole situation tired him.

He didn't know how long he just lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Light was shed into his room when his door opened. Yami sat up to see his brother closing the door. "You awake?" Atem asked, walking to the bed.

"Yeah."

Atem sat on the edge of the bed. He didn't say anything, just sat there. Yami placed his hand on Atem's arm. The older brother smiled sadly at him. "I'm sorry I ruined your birthday Yami." He apologized.

Yami's eyes widened and he lightly punched Atem's upper arm. "Don't be ridiculous Atem. My birthday is nothing compared to your health."

Atem didn't reply. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" He asked after another short silence. Yami scooted over to the other side and patted on the empty space. They both owned a single bed so it was nice and snug.

-o-o-o-o-o-

When Aknamkanon wanted to wake Atem up, he was surprised to find the bed empty. When he wanted to ask Yami where Atem might be, he found his two sons cuddled up in the small bed. He smiled tenderly, snapping a quick picture with his phone. They were sleeping so peacefully that he didn't want to wake them up, but they had an appointment.

"Atem." He whispered, lightly shaking his oldest son. Atem mumbled something under his breath and snuggled more against Yami. Aknamkanon shook him a little harder. "Wake up." He said in normal volume. The shaking combined with the noise successfully woke the two boys up.

"What time is it?" Yami asked after a yawn.

"It's ten thirty. We have to be at the hospital in an hour." Aknamkanon said. Both boys nodded and stood up. Atem left to his own room, Yami getting dressed in his own.

"I'm hungry."Atem complained.

"Sorry my boy, but you know the rules. If you eat the surgery will be postponed." His father replied.

"Exactly my point." Atem mumbled.

"Just get in the car." Aknamkanon ordered. Yami placed his hand on Atem's shoulder and guided him to the car. The two boys sat in the back while their father drove. Very little was spoken during the car ride. In the hospital, they were pointed to the department where they were supposed to be.

Atem's neurosurgeon escorted them to Atem's room for the day. He was given a hospital gown to wear. Once he was changed, the surgeon told the procedure, the risks and benefits. Atem absently nodded his head, he had heard this before from his father and it didn't help his nerves at all.

"Let's start with the CT scan shall we?" The doctor asked with a smile. Atem nodded somberly. The three were lead to the scanning room. There stood a tunnel like device. Atem had to lie down on the bed with his head in the tunnel.

"Try not to move." The doctor ordered. Yami sat by his side the whole time, holding his hand. It took only a couple minutes, but to Atem it felt like hours. They were brought back to the room where they had to wait for the results. The CT scan would tell them where exactly the tumor was.

It was a couple hours later that a nurse entered the room. "Good afternoon." She greeted, looking at the three people occupying the room. "I am here to prep for the surgery." She told. The nurse went over to the bed and plugged in a hair trimmer.

"Wow, what are you going to do with that?" Atem asked, shying away from her.

She smiled sadly at him. "I'm going to have to shave the area of the biopsy deary." She told. "Otherwise the hair can get in the way."

Atem looked pleadingly at his father but the man shook his head. He ran a hand through his crazy hair. Atem had always loved his hair. With a shuddering sigh, he lowered his hands and bowed his head in defeat. The nurse saw this as an 'ok' to prepare him. She took a look at her clipboard and turned the trimmer on. The whizzing noise was like torture to Atem.

"Did you wash your hair and scalp with the antiseptic hair?" She asked.

"Can't you smell it?" Atem retorted. He winced slightly as he felt locks of hair pool around him.

"Funny." The nurse said with sarcasm. "Have you fasted like was instructed?"

"Yes he has." Atem's father answered for him.

"Good." She said. To Atem the top of his head suddenly felt a lot colder. The nurse dipped some sterilizing liquid on top and he was ready. "My colleagues will take you to the operating room shortly." She said and left.

Only a couple minutes after she left, two others came into the room and wheeled Atem's bed out of the room. "Wait!" Yami yelled, making the two stop. "Can I come with him?" He asked them. Atem smiled gratefully at his little brother.

The two looked at each other. "We don't know." One of them said. "We will have to ask the surgeon." The other said. Yami nodded in understanding and walked with them to the operating room. The first man held up his hand for Yami to wait outside while he went inside with Atem and his colleague.

Inside, the surgeon had declined Yami's request. Atem grabbed the surgeon's arms when the anesthetic was given to him. "Please let him… I don't want to go through this alone." Atem pleaded, a couple tears escaping his eyes. The surgeon sighed.

"Go get him." The surgeon ordered the other. The man nodded and allowed Yami in. The boy was given green scrubs, a head cap, a mouth cap and something that he had to put over his shoes. He did not know how but he managed to fit all his hair into the cap. "You are not to touch anything, understood?" The surgeon said.

Yami nodded his head. "Can I hold his hand and talk to him?" He asked. A stool was put near Atem's hand for him to sit on. The anesthetic had already kicked in and Atem was motionless except for his chest heaving up and down.

"You may. Try to keep it low." The surgeon said. Yami took a seat on the stool and softly held Atem's hand. "I'm here Atem." He said softly. The surgeon had told them earlier that they would give Atem light sedation, that most patients found it tolerable. Atem was aware of every sound and touch.

Rubbing the back of Atem's hand, Yami watched as the doctor first marked the spots with a marker and then make an incision. One of the assistants handed him the drill. Yami gulped as it was turned on and the surgeon started drilling. It must've been awful, for Atem to hear the drill, drilling into his skull. He might not feel the pain but he probably could feel the pressure. He squeezed Atem's hand a little harder. "You're going to be okay." He whispered.

The other assistant handed him a huge injection while the other took the drill away. Yami looked away as the needle was stuck into Atem's brain. He could not bear to watch as people messed inside his older brother's brains. The neurosurgeon had collected enough tissue for the examination and took out the needle. To finish it, he sutured the incision, dabbing it with disinfectant. "You did amazing Atem." Yami said softly, still rubbing Atem's knuckles.

Yami stood up and walked out with the two assistants to Atem's recovery room. Once they had wheeled him inside and secured him, they looked at Yami. "How did it go?" the boy asked, looking at his brother.

"The procedure went flawless." The first assistant said. "All he needs now is to rest. We will monitor him here for now and if everything goes accordingly, he can go back to his room and home later." The two assistants left the room, the nurse from before entered. She attached an IV to Atem's arm.

"You'll have to leave the room sweetie." She smiled at Yami. "Your brother needs to rest." She said. Yami didn't argue and left the room, going to Atem's room where his father waited.

"It went well." He said before his father even had the chance to ask. He took off the green cap, the spikes springing back to their original place. The mouth cap he had pushed down the moment he had left the operating room. He took off the scrubs and the shoe protectors as well. "He has to rest now in the recovery room."

Aknamkanon sighed of relief. Yami sighed too and sat next to his father. The two slumped in their chair and waited. They waited until Atem was finally brought back to the room. It was the two assistants, with the nurse who pushed the IV bag.

"What's that." Aknamkanon asked, pointing at the bag.

"That's to keep him hydrated till he can drink water himself." The nurse explained, checking if the liquid was flowing freely into Atem's body. The tanned young man had woken up but was feeling fuzzy.

"Atem?" The nurse questioned. Atem didn't respond. He was staring off into space. "Atem?" The nurse asked again, this time more firmly. Atem blinked rapidly, as if he snapped out of a trance. His eyes moved to look at the nurse. "Good." She said. She opened his eyes and shone a flashlight into them. Pleased with the results, she checked his temperature, pulse and blood pressure.

"Atem." She said, "who are they?" She asked, pointing at his family. Atem's eyes moved from the nurse to his sibling and father. They had to wait for a couple of seconds before Atem answered.

"Dad and Yami." He answered with much difficulty.

"Does it hurt somewhere?" She asked. Atem closed his eyes, he had to think a little for his answer.

"My head hurts." He croaked out. The nurse nodded.

"From a scale of one to ten, how much does it hurt."

"Eight." Atem said after thinking.

"That bad?" She asked.

"Yes."

The nurse nodded. "Alright, we'll get you some morphine then." She left the room, returning shortly with another IV. She attached the IV to his arm as well. She pulled up the railing so Atem could change position if he wished and for him not to fall off.

"His vitals and breathing are good." She said, looking at Aknamkanon. "His reaction is still a little slow from the anesthetic but it should wear off soon. The laboratory results will be known in a couple of days. The hospital will call you." She explained and then left the three alone.

"How are you feeling?" Yami asked, arms resting on the side railing. Atem smiled weakly.

"Sore." He answered. His reaction had been a little faster. "Thank you Yami." He said after a short pause.

"For what?" Yami asked.

"For being beside me. You made it all bearable."

"Stop it, you're making me blush." Yami joked halfheartedly. "Sleep." He ordered. Atem did not argue and closed his eyes, sleep claiming him almost immediately.

The nurse would come sometimes throughout the day, waking him and asking him simple questions. The morphine had started working and the pain had numbed. Their friends had visited after Yami had told them about Atem.

Jounouchi, Shizuka, Anzu, Bakura, Marik, Otogi, Rishido, and Honda had all come with flowers, balloons, cards and gifts. Atem had laughed and greeted them all. He was not happy when the nurse shooed them all away for being too noisy.

Later his uncle and cousins had visited as well. His uncle and oldest cousin were both stoic but it was clearly written on their face that they were devastated by what happened to their cousin. His youngest cousin, Mokuba, wouldn't leave his side until visitor's hours were over.

"We'll come back tomorrow, okay?" His father said, softly rubbing his arm. Atem closed his eyes in understanding. His head hurt too much to nod.

"Later Atem." Yami said with a big grin.

Atem smiled back at him. "Later bro." He replied.

-o-o-o-o-o-

A couple days later Atem was back at home. Yami had skipped those days of school to support his brother. Atem had recovered mostly from the biopsy. They were nervously awaiting the results of the samples.

Their father had gone to work, leaving the two boys alone at home. Atem was lying on the couch while Yami was pacing around.

"What's taking so long!" He growled out with his hands thrown into the air. Atem winced at the loud voice of his younger brother. He had a headache and the incision was hurting as well.

"Yami, volume." Atem said. Yami stopped his pacing and looked a little guiltily at his brother.

"Sorry." He said and sat near Atem's feet. "The nerves are just killing me." He sighed. Atem chuckled, only to wince afterwards. This went not unnoticed by Yami. "Have you taken the painkillers?" He asked.

"No." Atem answered. Yami stood up and brought them over with a glass of water. Atem took them gratefully and swallowed them. It took a couple of minutes for the medication to kick in but he could wait. "I find it funny actually." Atem laughed lightly.

Yami looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You are the most nervous out of us all, while that should be me." Yami looked at him blankly. If Atem wasn't sore, he would've kicked him.

The turning of the lock of their front door confused both of them. Their father wasn't supposed to return home till five in the evening and it was still afternoon. Aknamkanon walked solemnly into the living room where both his boys sat.

"Boys…." He started. Both Atem and Yami looked at him expectantly. "I got a phone call about the lab results. Yami stood up and Atem swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

"Atem has glioblastoma multiforme grade four."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Author Notes: **This story is a tribute to my dear aunt who passed away the 24th of February 2014 to glioblastome multiforme grade four. She was still very young, just under 40 when she passed. The whole family was there to witness her last moments. We knew it was coming but I never knew it was going to be so hard on me. I hadn't slept in over 39 hours and hadn't eaten for 20 hours. I lost my voice from crying too much. I even burst out into tears a couple times while writing this.

I am writing this, to tell people what my dear aunt had to endure, what impact this all had on my family. I swear my little cousins, her daughters, did the most heart wrenching things.

The first three chapters will be based on what really happened, and the last chapter when the Puzzleshipping begins will be completely fiction.

Kebda, is an Egyptian dish of livers. I don't know if this is really Atem's favorite dish, I just looked up some Egyptian dishes and chose this. This is going to return a little later into the story though, you'll see.

Please read and review!


	2. II Glioblastoma

**Chapter title: **Glioblastoma**  
**Word count: ****5.127**  
**Chapter: ****2/4**  
**Chapter summary: ****Atem and Yami dealing with the disease.  
**Chapter warnings: **Get some kleenex, character death  
**Pairings: ****-**  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

_Chapter 2: Glioblastoma_

"Glio-what now?" Atem asked.

"Glioblastoma." His father corrected.

"And now in Japanese." Yami said with a roll of his eyes.

His father sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Atem… you have a brain tumor." He said, sitting down next to his son. Atem sat up so his other brother could join on the couch. Yami didn't sit though, he just stood in front of the couch.

"Is that all?" Atem asked.

Aknamkanon placed his face in his hands and shook his head. "This is the most common primary tumor… and aggressive type there is. It's incredibly malevolent. There is a very small chance that it can be removed." The man looked at his eldest son. The poor boy was in such a state of shock. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets, his mouth open, corners of his lips curled downwards, hand placed on the bald spot on his head.

"I-I'm d-dying?" Atem stuttered out. A thud attracted the attention of both him and his dad. Yami had collapsed to the floor. Aknamkanon shot out of his chair and shook Yami.

"Yami! Wake up!" The man yelled, lightly tapping Yami's cheeks with the palms of his hand. Yami's eyes slowly fluttered open. He looked from his father to his brother and tears started to pour out of his eyes. Seeing Yami's tears, Atem's own tears rolled down his cheeks.

W-what's going to happen now?" Yami asked between sobs. He glanced at his brother. Atem had slumped down in the seat and was just staring ahead of him, his eyes filled with fear and sorrow, bloodshot from the crying, mouth agape. Aknamkanon shed a few tears of his own.

"There is not much we can do… the doctor said that there is no space for surgery, so it cannot be removed. Even if it is removed, it will surely come back and Atem's left and right lobe will never come in contact with each other again."

"S-so…? Atem is fine now isn't he! Can't they at least try!" Yami was screaming at this point. He was angry. Angry at the doctors, angry at his father, angry at the world, angry at the gods. Why wouldn't they do anything!

"Yami calm down!" His father scolded. "They can't. It's at the most impossible spot to remove. They can seriously damage him if they do operate. Atem is going to die." Aknamkanon said, as if Atem wasn't in the room at all.

Yami sniffed and calmed down. "How long." His voice cracked. Aknamkanon shook his head.

"The doctor said that he has six to eight months left." He closed his eyes. Yami looked back at Atem. He had curled up on the couch and was sobbing in his knees. Yami stood up and sat down near Atem, petting his brother's back. He so much wanted to say that everything was going to be alright but who was he fooling?

"Atem…." He whispered. The tanned male did not react. He only whimpered and hugged his knees tighter.

"Why don't we take Atem to bed?" Aknamkanon suggested, placing his hands on the crying male's shoulders. Yami nodded, lightly tugging at Atem. The other wouldn't budge. So with his father, he lifted Atem up and carried him to his bedroom. Because they lived in a one-story home, it was easy carrying him to his bed. Yami tucked him in and sat beside the bed. "Let him sleep Yami." His father ordered.

Yami shook his head. "No, I promised that I am going to be by his side through this whole ordeal." The youngest said stubbornly. Aknamkanon sighed but left them alone. Yami lied down next to his brother and wormed his hand into Atem's and held it tightly. Yami just lied there, until Atem's hold on his hand loosened.

He looked to see Atem breathing steadily. He let go of the hand and slowly stood up. "Oh Atem… what have we done to deserve this…." He whispered.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The following days, Atem started having severe headaches. The family thought that it was just a side effect of the tumor. Now that it was known, Aknamkanon assumed that it was all psychological. Yami kept on pressing that they had to get it checked out but they wouldn't listen. Until Atem had a seizure. The tanned male had never had a seizure before, so uncertainties arose.

Once at the hospital, it was discovered that Atem had brain hemorrhage, assumed to be caused by stress. The neurosurgeon was smiling as he said this, confusing the rest of the family.

"With the bleeding, the tumor shrank. We can operate." Was what he had said. This small glimmer of hope was all Yami needed to hear. He smiled brightly at the surgeon and resisted to hug him. Atem was given a room, before he would go into surgery again. This time however, he shared one instead of a private one.

He shared the room with what appeared like a young boy. He looked really tired and pale; IV's attached to his arm; a heart monitor beeping inconsistently, sometimes missing a beat.

"What are you here for?" Atem asked, getting bored from waiting the whole time. The boy looked up at him and smiled slightly.

"My heart is failing. I am here for a pacemaker." He had said. Then his smile fell. "But there is a small chance that it's going to work, they say that I'm a lost cause. I might not even come alive out of the surgery." He added with a small sigh. He then looked at Atem. "What about you?"

"Brain tumor." He answered a little blankly.

"Oh… that must be horrible. I'm sorry" The boy said sadly.

"You don't have to apologize… we're kind of in the same boat, aren't we?" Atem said bitterly.

"I guess." The boy sighed. He had opened his mouth again to say something but was cut short when the same nurse from the biopsy walked in.

"Hello again, I am here to take you to the operating room." Yami nodded and looked back at the boy. "Good luck." He said as he was pushed out.

"Good luck." The boy whispered.

Atem was prepared for another surgery once more. This time however, he was sedated completely. This surgery was bigger than just a biopsy. Yami was not allowed in this one, so he had to wait outside with his father, uncle and older cousin. Mokuba had not been allowed to come.

They waited for hours and hours. Yami thought he was going to lose it. What surgery took over six hours! His older cousin Seto sat beside him and handed him a sandwich. Yami took it and just stared at it.

"Eat." Seto ordered. "You haven't eaten since we have arrived."

Yami pushed it away. "I'm not hungry." He muttered.

"Yami, eat it now or I will force it down your throat."

The shortest of the group sighed and sluggishly opened the package. It had mayonnaise on it, he hated mayonnaise. But he feared Seto more than he hated mayonnaise. He slowly ate it, with Seto watching him like a hawk. He appreciated it that his cousin was beside him, showing he cared by these small gestures. They were never ones to voice 'I love you' to the other, but now, these small things screamed it out for them.

"Thanks." Yami said, pushing aside the plastic wrapper the sandwich had been wrapped up in. The mayonnaise was still strong on his tongue. He washed it all down with the bottle of water Seto had given him with the sandwich.

The waiting resumed.

They had gone from the waiting room to Atem's room. There was only one bed since Atem's had been wheeled away for the surgery. Yami lied down on the other bed in the room, assuming it was vacant. There were no cards on the bulletin board which hung above the head of the bed, the small compartments were empty and the bed was made, that is, until Yami lied on it. The rest of his family sat scattered in the room on the empty chairs. No one said anything. The air was full of tension that no one wanted to break.

A couple more hours passed. Yami was slowly dozing off, trying his hardest best to keep his eyes open. His uncle had already fallen asleep, tired of waiting. Seto had taken refuge with his phone and Yami's father was resting his head in his hands.

The tension was finally broken when Atem's surgeon walked in. He had changed out of his operating clothes for they were spotless. He surveyed the room, waiting till he got everyone's attention. Aknamkanon looked up as he heard footsteps; Seto put his phone away and Yami sat up. Aknamkanon slowly shook his brother awake. The man looked around disorientated before he remembered where they were and why they were there. He noticed the surgeon and focused fully on him.

Seeing that he had everyone's attention, the surgeon decided to speak up. "The surgery is finished." He said, stating the obvious. "We have not been able to fully remove it. But we have been able to remove a small portion and successfully drain the excess blood."

"What about Atem? How is he?" Yami asked, crawling closing to the surgeon. The man raised an eyebrow but he looked back at the two adults.

"We cannot tell for sure, we will have to wait till he wakes up. He is in the intensive care unit right now and will not wake until morning." The surgeon said with a straight face. He was probably used to this by now. Aknamkanon voiced his thanks and nodded at the doctor. The surgeon nodded back and left the room.

Yami looked at his watch. It was already past midnight. Now that the surgery was done, they would probably be sent home. As if on cue, Atem's nurse walked in. "One person can stay with Atem for the night, I'm afraid that the rest of you will have to come back tomorrow during visiting hours." She said.

"I'll stay." Yami volunteered immediately. Aknamkanon shook his head.

"I think they meant an adult Yami. You go back with your uncle and cousin." Yami wanted to argue but he was already being pushed out of the room by his uncle and cousin. He wanted to scream but reminded himself that he was in a hospital. It was late and most patients were already sleeping. Bitterly, he let himself be guided out of the hospital and to the parking garage, where he was sat into the backseat and driven to his uncle's home.

Their home was almost like Yami's house. It was just slightly bigger and had a second floor. He was given a pair of Mokuba's pajamas since Seto's were way too large for him. Much as he hated to admit it, he was about as tall as his youngest cousin.

Mokuba had opened his eyes when the light switch was flipped on. "Yami?" He asked a little drowsily. Yami was assigned to share a bed with the little kid, not that he minded. "What's happened?" He asked, sitting up. "How's Atem?"

Yami had put the pajamas on, even though they were just a little too small for him. All in all, he looked plain ridiculous. "Nothing." Yami said, pushing the young boy back into bed. Mokuba realized that Yami was staying over and scooted to make room for him. "Atem will be just fine." Yami lied down, immediately being embraced by Mokuba. The young boy had fallen asleep back almost instantly but Yami couldn't.

He did not know how many hours of sleep he had when morning came, he only knew that it was very little. Mokuba was woken up by his father and shipped off to school. Seto had his own classes. Yami had class today as well but that wasn't one of his biggest worries at the moment. He left the house together with his uncle, who locked up before going to work. He patted Yami's shoulder and went to his car.

Yami watched the car disappear into the distance. He slowly walked his way to his own home to get showered and changed. It was still a little too early for visiting hours, he would just be kicked out of the hospital if he went now.

After he got out of the shower, he saw that he had a new text message. It from his father.

_Atem is awake_

Yami's engines suddenly kick started and he hurriedly threw something on, not even looking what he was wearing. He ran out of the house, running back for a moment to lock the doors and then back to the bus stop to go to the hospital.

When he arrived, he learned to see that Atem was still in intensive care. He followed the direction given to him by the reception desk and went into the room. His father was sitting up on a smaller bed in the back of the room. Aknamkanon looked up once he saw his youngest son enter the room.

"Come in." He whispered. Yami nodded and sat next to his father as silently as possible. The bed groaned a little with the extra weight put on it but it wasn't deafening or something. He looked at Atem. IV's were attached to his arm again and his eyes were closed.

"I thought he was awake?" Yami whispered to his dad. His heart had sunk into his stomach when he saw Atem's eyes were closed. He had wanted to talk to his older brother.

"He _is_ awake, just don't be too loud."

Yami tiptoed to the bedside and looked Atem over. His head was elevated to keep the pressure off of the brain; a nasty scar was on top of his head, held together by metal pins; his face was slightly swollen and a heart monitor was beeping steadily next to him. "Atem." Yami whispered to him, placing his hand on top of Atems right hand.

It took a couple seconds for Atem to open his eyes. Exhausted red eyes met worried red eyes. "Ya…." He started but gurgled a little. "Ya… Ya…" He tried again. Then after swallowing, "Ya…mi." He managed out. Yami's eyes widened. He turned to his father for explanation.

"His speech is damaged." He answered sullenly. Yami's mouth hung open and he looked back at his brother. Atem was blinking tiredly.

"What is your name?"

Atem closed his eyes. "A… A…" He breathed out. "A… te." His voice cracked and tears were starting to roll down his cheeks. Yami gasped slightly and rubbed his brother's hand like he had done before. This time however, it did not have the same calming effect. The call of his name made him look back at his father.

"The right side of his body is paralyzed as well."

Yami trailed his eyes down to the hand he was holding. It was Atem's right one. A harsh sob escaped Yami before hot tears rolled down his own cheeks. "What did Atem do to deserve this?" He sobbed out. Soft crying from behind him distracted him from his own crying. He saw back to see his own father in tears.

"At least he has retained his memories."

-o-o-o-o-o-

A couple weeks had passed and Atem was back home. His ability of speech had not recovered but it had not worsened either. They had rented a medical bed, a wheelchair and a portable bathroom for Atem. Since he wasn't able to walk anymore, it was too big of a hassle to drag him to the bathroom every time. Especially for the caretakers.

There were three ladies that came in turns to tend to Atem. They were a young, sassy and feisty woman named Mai, A very young bubbly, Egyptian woman named Mana and a shy young woman named Kisara.

Yami was happy to have them, they looked as if they really cared for Atem. Mai did everything to keep Atem happy. If the adolescent wanted to go outside, he would go outside, despite Aknamkanon's wishes. Yami did not know why, but his father had… changed. He was not happy with the caretakers almost twenty-four seven in their house. But Yami knew that if they weren't here, he and his dad would never be able to take care of Atem on their own. There had been a couple of times that Atem had wanted to go to the mall to go out shopping. It was necessary too, because Atem wore tight clothing and those didn't fit anymore, he also needed more pajamas. Shopping was something Atem had loved so Mai, Mana and Yami would often take him to mall without telling Aknamkanon. When the man found out, he would have a fit.

His father seemed to care more about the money than Atem's wishes and wellbeing.

At first, the poor boy was so ashamed to be undressed by a woman and put on a toilet in the middle of the living room where the medical bed was stationed. Yami had never wanted to punch his father so hard before. Mai got the message and turned her back so the man could relief himself in peace. But his father… he just kept watching the boy. Eventually though, Atem stopped caring. He could not voice his complaints, all that came out were incoherent syllables.

Mana was the one who always kept the spirits high. She always made jokes and told her stories about her own life that made Atem laugh. She would always massage his paralyzed arm and leg to help with the circulation and always practice talking with him.

Kisara would do her duties as caretaker, but she was a little reluctant about the bathroom thing. Yami wondered why she would take this job when she couldn't do this but didn't question it. Perhaps she was only comfortable with woman patients. When she was there, he was the one who helped Atem with the bathroom. Atem seemed to prefer him too, they had grown up together so he didn't minded much.

The three women would help him with his bathroom needs, his food, his medicine and his exercises. Atem had been right-handed so it took a little while to get used to eating with his left. There was this one time that Atem had wanted to scratch his nose. So with his left hand, he grabbed his right arm and brought it to his nose, to scratch it. Yami had laughed so hard at that. He knew that Atem was a good sport. Atem laughed about it as well.

Atem also had to take a lot of different medication. From injections, to pills, to powders. Yami had winced every time Mai, Mana or Kisara gave him an injection. Some of the pills that Atem had to swallow were as big as his hand and most of the powdered medicine stank.

Atem's body started to change. With little exercise, he gained weight fast. The side effects of the medication didn't help either. He had lost a couple strands of his hair because of radiation therapy but fortunately most of it was still there. He was happy for his brother that he lost little of his hair. Atem had been afraid to go bald.

A lot of people thought that now that Atem was incapable of speech, that he was simply retarded. This enraged Yami. Atem was very well aware of all the things they were saying. They would keep talking about death near the poor man.

There was one more thing that changed after the surgery.

Yami had decided to cheer his brother up by making his favorite meal, kebda. With a smile, he presented the plate in front of his brother on the simple lap table that they used for Atem's food. Atem just stared at if for a moment then pushed it aside.

"No." He had said.

"Atem? Is something wrong?" Yami asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. He pricked a piece of liver on the fork and brought it to Atem's mouth. Atem turned his head away. Yami was genuinely confused now.

"Don't you like this?" He asked, putting the fork down.

"No." Atem answered again.

"Then, what would you like to eat?" Yami questioned him, poking at the plate absently.

"Su… Su..sh… su– " Atem tried. Yami frowned.

"Sushi?" He guessed.

"Yes."

"But Atem… you hate sushi."

"No."

Yami took the liver way from him and brought it back to the kitchen. Maybe Mana or Mai would eat it. Kisara had always politely declined food offers.

Since he did not possess the skills to make sushi, he just ordered a platter. It came very soon and he presented it to Atem. The man looked absolutely blissed and gobbled up roll after roll. Yami watched as Atem not only ate sushi, but ate more than ever. Atem had always had a big appetite but he had eaten the whole two person platter by himself.

Every month a woman from the logopaedics would come and see how Atem's speech was progressing. At first, it seemed that Atem's speech was recuperating, along with his movements. Atem had held a fork in his right hand, fingers curled around the silverware lightly. He had been so happy.

Just when they thought everything was going to be alright, Atem started having epileptic attacks. The most ones were very small and harmless. But one night, he had a big one. He was carried off to the hospital. There Yami heard to most worst possible news ever.

If Atem's heart were to stop, they would not even _attempt_ to do CPR.

Yami would not have it. He raved and raged about doing it himself and stormed out of the hospital. It took him a couple days to calm down.

Atem had returned home from the hospital shortly and his medication list only grew longer. Yami and Jounouchi had been talking about treating Atem to a restaurant. When they suggested this to Atem, the adolescent had smiled the brightest he had in a very long time.

It was settled. They would go with a big group. Atem, Yami, Jounouchi, Shizuka, Seto, Anzu, Bakura, Marik, Otogi, Rishido, Honda and of course little Mokuba. They did not want any adult there to ruin it for them. Only Mai would be allowed, but that was okay. Yami loved her. She had really grown to care for Atem.

When Aknamkanon heard of this, he forbade them to go. Atem cried hearing this. He had been looking forward to it so much. He was angry at them. At his father for not letting him go and at Yami for lying at him.

Mai had heard of the plan and was so happy that she was employed at Atem's that evening. She called the GP to ask if it was okay for Atem to go so shortly after the epileptic attack. The GP gave them his okay and told that it would be good. The blonde haired woman packed Atem's needed medicine and walked up to Aknamkanon, hands on her hips.

"We are taking him to the Golden Wok." She stated.

Aknamkanon shot her a dirty look. "No, what if he gets an epileptic attack?" He sneered. Mai's hands moved from her hips to cross in front of her full chest.

"I will take all responsibility." She said. Aknamkanon leaned into the couch, not looking at her anymore.

"No." He answered stubbornly. Atem whimpered and Mai's heart broke.

"As I said, I will take all responsibility. I will even pay for Atem and Yami."

Aknamkanon was silent for a minute or two. "Alright." He then said. That bright smile came back on Atem's face. Yami and Mai both hefted him up into his wheelchair. He got heavier with the day. Mai's car was very big so they fitted him in easily, also being able to take a couple friends along. The rest was either driven there by their parents or agreed to go with public transportation.

The restaurant they went to was an all you can eat buffet. You picked out your own ingredients and the cooks would cook them for you on the spot. Yami had told the restaurant in advance that they would be bringing a wheelchair so they were given a spot that made access to the buffet easy. Yami would push Atem around and scoop up the ingredients Atem had wanted.

That they had a lot of fun was an understatement. It was one of the best moments they had since this whole ordeal started. Atem had eaten more than everyone else. They had said that they were going to stay for three hours, but paid for only two. Even Mai and Yami knew that Atem wouldn't be able to handle it. Atem didn't seem to even notice. After their two hours were over, he was visibly tired. Before they went home, they took one big group picture with Atem in the middle.

They took him back home, showing Aknamkanon that everything had gone smoothly, that Atem had the time of his life and that he was overreacting. These were the last days of the Atem's life; they should try to make the best of it instead of letting him lie in bed all day!

The following couple of months were mainly eventless. The logopaedic stopped coming after they had decided that Atem was not going to speak normally again. He had also gotten too heavy for the three ladies to lift him up, even with Yami's assistance. His legs and arms had thickened only slightly. It was his stomach and face that had swollen up.

Another thing, Aknamkanon had chased Mai away. She meddled too much with his family, was his reasoning. Yami and Mai still had contact secretly. She would often ask how Atem was faring.

-o-o-o-o-o-

It was one of the rare days that Yami went to school when it happened. He already knew that he was going to have to repeat the school year over because he had missed so much for being beside Atem most of the time. But he couldn't care less.

In the middle of class, he had received a phone call from his father that Atem was in the hospital again. He dropped everything he was doing and made a beeline to it. It appeared that all those medicine had poisoned Atem.

When Yami arrived there, Atem was strapped up with IV's again. A heart monitor was beeping next to him, the only indication that his brother was still alive. Aknamkanon was already there, Aknadin, Seto and Mokuba joining later. Atem couldn't talk at all anymore. Not even a yes or no.

"Face it brother. Your son is dead. You should pretend that he isn't here anymore. That will make it all easier later." His uncle has said. Seto had glared at his father while Mokuba shed some tears. Aknamkanon sighed.

"I think you're right."

Yami couldn't believe his ears. He slammed his hands on the table in the waiting room, not caring that he was in a hospital this time. The sound reverberated throughout the room, stunned sets of eyes looking at him.

"How can you say that! How can you say that when Atem is still in there, his heart beating in his chest and breathing ?!" He screamed, hot tears running down his cheeks. Aknamkanon could not face his son after what he had just said. Yami didn't even wait for an answer, turned on his heel and stormed into Atem's room. This room was fortunately a private one. Because Yami broke down on Atem's chest.

Atem was home again. The wheelchair and the portable toilet had been given back. Atem had gotten too heavy to carry. The two other ladies had been dismissed as well. Instead, nurses from the hospital would come over. Yami had insisted that Atem would give his last breath in his own house instead of a nursing home surrounded by strangers.

Yami did not like them at all. All the nurses did was stab Atem with needles and pour morphine into his body. The only thing Atem did now was sleep. He seriously suspected that his father had agreed to inject so much morphine into Atem that the boy wouldn't wake up at all. They had on more occasions suggested to just put Atem to 'sleep'. Yami snarled at the doctors. What was his brother? A dog? He would give his last breath on his own.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Almost a year had passed since the diagnoses. The doctors were amazed that Atem was still alive at this point, but they knew that Atem was in his last stages. His blood pressure was skyrocketing, he hadn't eaten for over 24 hours and refused to drink.

Yami's dream didn't help. He had dreamed about Atem. Atem was like old again, before his appearance changed. He had smiled sadly. "This is my last day Yami." He had told his younger brother.

Yami had woken up in a cold sweat. He had immediately checked up on Atem after that dream. His brother was sleeping, his chest moving up and down sharply. His breathing was even breathing anymore… it was more like he was huffing and puffing.

He had not told anyone about his dream, though he didn't have to. He, his father, uncle and two cousins had decided to do a stakeout. Yami was not movable from Atem's side. He kept on holding his hand, forehead resting on Atem's knuckles. No one could get him something to eat, not even Seto.

It was evening and the nurse had already left. Seto had been able to get Yami to eat at least a few bites of food. He was back at Atem's side in no time. He would often wet Atem's lips with a small cloth against the thirst.

It was past midnight now, Mokuba had already gone to sleep in Yami's bed. Aknamkanon sat on one side of the bed while Yami was sitting at the other. Atem's breathing had gotten inconsistent. Yami stood up, putting his free hand on Atem's forehead.

"Atem…can you hear me?" He asked. "If you can, open and close your eyes." Slowly, Atem's eyes opened. They were dull and almost lifeless. Yami swallowed as Atem closed them again. He reopened them and looked at Yami.

He took a breath and breathed out.

He took a breath and breathed out**.**

He took a breath. There was a pause. He breathed out, closing his eyes.

"Atem?" Yami asked, shaking. Atem had not taken another breath. He checked his pulse. 

There wasn't one.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Author Notes: **I would like to thank everyone for their support! Yeah it had been hard on me, especially since this was the first death of a close family member. I was there when she gave her last three breaths like that. It was very beautiful to be there with her in her last moments. It means so much to me that people are reading this story. I am sorry if sometimes the paragraphs weren't quite connected to each other, I wanted to fit the whole year in this chapter without making it too long. Seriously, thank you so very much.

Her husband… is the person I hate grew to hate. He suddenly got very greedy. He got angry when my aunt bought clothing in the very beginning of her illness. He didn't even want to buy her massaging oil because it was too expensive. It was my mother and two other aunts (her two older sisters and one younger sister) who took care of her the most. They bought her stuff from of their own money, took care of the things the caretakers did not take care of (like showering). Can you believe that he got angry (not directly) at my mom and aunts for eating from their house? Seriously they started bringing their own food and then he complained that they only brought in food enough for themselves….

Then my sick aunt's parents in law came from Turkey. From there, things went downhill. They kept saying the word 'death' near my aunt. She was not retarded. She understood every single word they said. They just wouldn't understand that no matter how many times we told them. And then her father in law suddenly started saying that she was dead the moment they found the tumor.

My uncle (her oldest brother) really had said that he had seen that dream where she told him it was her last day. And she really did die 45 minutes after midnight.

Although it is hard… I am very happy for her. She is finally not suffering anymore.

R&amp;R


	3. III Burial

**Chapter title: **Burial**  
******Word count: ****2.888**  
******Chapter: ****3/4**  
******Chapter summary: ****The family is preparing for the burial and coping with the death of Atem.  
**Chapter warnings: ****-**  
**Pairings: ****-**  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

_Chapter 3: Burial_

"He's gone!" Aknamkanon cried out, bursting into tears. All the hysterics started. Yami looked around, Mokuba had woken up and was now crying in the arms of his father. Seto was in a secluded part of the room, silently shedding his own tears. This was the first time he had ever seen Seto cry. His father had collapsed and was crying on the edge of the bed.

Yami just blinked and looked. From his brother, to his family, and back to his brother. Seto was the first to regain composure. He stood up, grabbed the blanket and pulled it over Atem's face.

Realization hit Yami like a sack of bricks. His brother was dead. Dead and gone forever. His whole body trembled as he looked at the covered figure. As if the strings keeping him standing up were cut, Yami fell on top of Atem's torso.

"Check his pulse! Maybe this was just a pause! He might still be alive!" He cried out, clutching the fabric of the white sheets. Seto did so for Yami, he knew it wouldn't do him any good, but Yami had to accept it.

"No!" He screamed. "I want Atem! Give me my Atem back!" He screamed so hard that his lungs burned. Seto had to drag him away from the bed and from the body of his little cousin. It took a good hour of crying before everyone was reduced to sobbing and sniffles.

Seto had called the paramedics earlier and they declared Atem dead, making the death certificate and all other paperwork that was required. He handed them to Seto, the only one who could think the straightest at the moment and gave them his condolence.

"What now?" Yami asked, sitting up from the couch he was laid on by Seto. He looked back to the bed his brother still laid on. He frowned a little. "Why is there a knife on top of Atem?" He asked confused.

"The heavy metal prevents bloating." Seto answered. The knife wasn't a small butter knife; it was one of the bigger ones they used for cutting meat. It was quite heavy. Yami nodded dumbly and walked back to his brother. "Let him stay until morning." He pleaded, sitting on the stool near the bed. "I want to stay with him till morning."

Aknamkanon nodded in agreement. The least he could do for Yami was to let Atem stay so Yami could properly say goodbye. Yami slowly peeled the blanket away from Atem's face.

The eyes were closed and his skin had gotten paler. All in all, he looked absolutely like an angel. "He looks like old again." Yami said, voice cracking. He leaned forward to press one last kiss to the forehead of his brother. It was still warm. Softly and unwillingly, he pulled the blanket over Atem's face again.

There was a silence reigning over them. No one wanted to break the silence. Yami could not bear it.

"I told you Atem is strong…." He started. "That dumbass doctor gave him eight months. Atem said, screw you all! I'll live for a year!" This brought a sad smile to the lips of the other people. It really was something Atem would do.

He then chuckled bitterly. "There were three ways Atem feared dying." Everyone listened intently at Yami. He was the only one who knew the young man the best. "Dying in a fire… drowning… and from a tumor." His voice cracked again as he said the last part.

Hours passed and as much as Yami hated to admit it, his brother was starting to smell. He paid enough attention in biology class to know that a body started decomposing immediately the moment the person died. This only confirmed more and more that his brother was really gone.

It was early in the morning that the undertaker came with a stretcher and a body bag. Yami broke down all over again. Seeing his uncle and father carrying Atem onto it, the man putting the bag around Atem and closing it up.

He started screaming for Atem again. The man was ignoring this, probably used to it by now. With Seto as a support, he followed the man out onto the streets, where he watched Atem being pushed into a hearse.

That's it… Atem was gone.

He ran back inside and collapsed on the now empty bed. He opened his eyes, his sense of smell smelling his brother's scent. He sat up, collected the bed sheets, the towel that caught Atem's sweat, the pillowcase and decided to grab the pillow as well.

"If anyone washes these I will kill them!" He yelled as he ran with them to his room. Seto waited a little before he followed Yami into his room. Yami was lying in his bed, fetus position, hugging those things close to him. It broke Seto's heart to see him like that. Mokuba had awoken by the racket that Yami had caused. During the very early hours in the morning, he was put to sleep by his father and older brother in Yami's bed.

"Go inside." He ordered. Mokuba knew better than to argue at that moment and wordlessly went out of the room.

"I can still smell Atem on them." Yami sobbed, his face buried into those fabrics. Seto rubbed his back. "No one will touch them." He assured. Yami was not convinced for he whimpered and shook his head. Seto pulled Yami's blanket open, forced Yami's arms away from the sheet and pillow and closed the blanket over those.

"See, no one will touch them." Seto repeated. He looked at his little cousin. He was looking horrible. "You're going to take a shower. I will guard Atem's pillow and sheets, okay?" Yami looked into Seto's eyes to see only truth in them. He finally nodded and gathered clothing before he headed into the shower. Seto waited until he heard the water. He was pleased to hear that Yami actually moved and didn't just stand under the stream. He would've stormed into the bathroom the scrub Yami clean himself if he had to.

Yami exited, looking refreshed at least a little. He dried his hair with Seto waiting for him. The little lump under his blanket was present so he was relieved.

He was then dragged back to the living room and sat on the couch by Seto once he was done. He was given a glass of cold water, which he gulped down appreciatively. All the screaming and crying had done a number on his throat. Aknadin was in the kitchen, talking through his phone. Aknamkanon had received a glass from Seto as well. Mokuba was sitting on the couch, just staring blankly at the empty bed. He was still so young and had a hard time accepting this.

"What's going to happen now?" Yami asked softly. Aknamkanon put down his glass and sighed deeply.

"We will cleanse Atem's body, and then take him to Egypt. Your uncle is taking care of that now. There he will be buried."

Yami looked horrified. If they were planning on burying him there, how would he be able to visit?! They hardly went to Egypt! "Why Egypt?" Yami whispered. Sure he was half Egyptian, but he had nothing with that country. His skin wasn't even tan like his brother's and father's.

"A burial here is incredibly expensive Yami… besides, I could get a nice spot, next to your mother." This shut Yami up effectively. His mother had died when he was very young so he didn't even know anything about her. He knew that she was Japanese, and that he had inherited her skin tone. But that was all.

He never even knew his mother was buried in Egypt. Kind of explained why they never went to visit her grave here. Wait… a nice spot… he had already taken care of all this without his consent? He did not feel like arguing about it this moment. He was just too exhausted and he was sure that Atem wouldn't like it if he fought with his father now. Atem always hated it when they fought.

"What did you mean by cleansing Atem?" He could not bring himself to say 'body'.

"We're not going to embalm him. We're going to wash him here, dress him up and then put him in his casket. Then he we will go to Egypt as soon as possible."

Aknadin walked into the living room, done with his mobile phone. "It's all taken care of now. We can wash Atem today in the evening, he had to go to the hospital first, and then we will all fly to Egypt tomorrow. The funeral will take place the day after. We will return in about a week."

Seto counted the days. So Atem would be buried on March 18th. Wait a minute that was…

March 18th was Yami's birthday!

He immediately took his father by the arm and dragged him to the kitchen. "Can't you change the date?" He had hissed. His father shot him a glare for being rude to him.

"No." He hissed back. "There is a funeral the day before and the day next." He explained more calmly.

"But that day is Yami's birthday." Seto explained. Aknadin bit his lip.

"The tickets have already been bought…."

Seto sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He said nothing more and went back to the living room. His uncle was rummaging through drawers to find passports and all other necessities for traveling. Yami was just staring at the empty bed. Mokuba was sitting next to Yami, hugging his arm and resting his head on Yami's shoulder.

Seto did not know if Yami figured it out or not, but he looked horrible. Yami hadn't slept for over forty hours. "Come on Yami, let's get you some sleep before cleaning Atem okay?" Seto asked, slowly pulling his younger cousin to his feet. Yami did not resist, drained of energy.

Mokuba shuffled silently behind them, not wanting to be left alone. Not caring that Yami wasn't wearing any pajamas, Seto pushed him down and covered him with the blanket. Yami immediately clutched the pillow, bed sheets and towel from Atem's bed and closed his eyes.

"Nii-san…." Mokuba whispered. Seto looked at his younger brother and opened one of his arms. Mokuba ran into them immediately, burying his face into Seto's shirt. "I miss Atem already…."

Seto had to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. A prickling sensation in his eyes warned him of the oncoming tears. But he had to be strong. For both Yami and Mokuba. "Met too Mokuba…." He whispered. "Me too."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Yami woke up again, late in the afternoon. The couple hours of sleep had done wonders to him. He looked at the floor to see a suitcase packed for him. He assumed it was Seto's work. The tall male was the most levelheaded of them all. He dressed in Atem's old clothing and walked downstairs. It gave him a sense of relief.

Seto, Mokuba and Aknadin had left. Jounouchi, Shizuka, Anzu and Honda were sitting in the living room instead.

"Yami…." Jounouchi had whispered. He stood up and opened his arms. The dams broke and tears started flowing again despite Yami's wishes. The other three in the room joined the hug, the two girls crying as well.

"Where are the others?" Yami asked, letting go of them. These were mostly his friends, Atem's friends weren't here.

"They left when they found out that Atem had been taken away already… why didn't you tell us earlier Yami?" Honda asked.

Yami sighed, not looking at his friends. "I was a little preoccupied." He answered. Honda's mouth formed an 'o' and decided not to say anything. Alerting friends was the least important thing on his priority list.

"So…" Anzu started. "Is there a chance that we can see him again?" She asked hopefully.

Yami looked at her; he knew of the crush that the girl had on his brother. He nodded. "We're going to wash him this evening. Before placing him in the coffin, he can be seen one last time. Could you please tell that to Atem's friends as well?"

Jounouchi nodded and started to text the others. "You guys can stay here if you like, me and my dad can take you there." He said.

Anzu stood up. "Alright then, how about me and Shizuka make dinner? I bet you haven't eaten anything for a while Yami." She said, scrutinizing him. Yami shied away, she was right. Anzu didn't wait for an answer. "Let's go Shizuka." She said and walked to the kitchen. Jounouchi's younger sister nodded and followed Anzu to the kitchen.

As the ladies cooked, Yami told them about Atem's passing and what they've been doing ever since and about the burial. Strangely enough, he did not cry tears. He figured that he had either gotten stronger or just ran out of tears.

The dinner that Anzu and Shizuka made were delicious. Aknamkanon had joined too, telling Yami that all preparations were done. Yami's friends were quite saddened to hear that Atem was going to be buried in Egypt. They had wanted to attend the funeral but a ticket to Egypt was too expensive. They also had no place to stay. Yami and his dad would be staying with family and they didn't want to be a burden.

After dinner was eaten and all cleaned up, it was time to prepare Atem for his funeral. They had to push a little to all fit in the car but eventually they managed. Aknadin, Seto and Atem's friends were already there when they arrived. Even Mai, Mana and Kisara had showed up. The nurses that took care after them hadn't cared enough to say goodbye to Atem.

Only Aknamkanon and Yami were allowed to go into the room where they would wash Atem. Atem had been undressed and was laid down in a big human sized rectangular basin, a cloth covering Atem's stomach and privates. Yami and Aknamkanon pulled on latex gloves and tied plastic aprons around their middles.

Yami frowned. Atem had three fresh scars. One on his chest, one just below his chest and one on his abdomen. He wanted to question it but the words died in his mouth when his father gave him the cloth. "Let's begin."

With a wet cloth, Atem's privates were washed from under the modesty cloth. Then, with different clean wet cloths, they washed the arms, legs, torso and face. He was patted dry with towels. To finish, they wrapped him up in a big white sheet. Atem's body was now completely covered, except for his face. He looked almost… mummified. Yami had winced at how cold Atem felt.

"The others may see him now before…." Aknamkanon couldn't finish his sentence.

Yami nodded and opened the door to the waiting room. "You may see him now." He whispered. His voice had just failed him. After everyone had seen Atem and said goodbye for the last time, Aknamkanon covered Atem's face with the white sheet.

The whole room was in tears as the father and uncle lifted up the body and placed it in the casket. His uncle screwed it shut, giving the last screw to Yami.

Yami accepted it and placed the last screw on Atem's coffin. Just before they wanted to take it away, he stopped them.

"Wait!" He called. He then ran and took a clean cloth. "Atem hates dust." He said as he cleaned the lid.

That's it… Atem was not coming back again.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The following week had been a blur to Yami. The flight to Egypt was over before he knew it, they had moved in with his uncle Mahad. All he could think about was Atem the entire time.

Seto had packed him a black suit so that was what he wore. He watched blankly as the coffin was slowly lowered into the ground.

He could not, _did_ not want to believe that that was his brother being lowered into the ground.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Returning home had not been easy on Yami. He secluded himself from everyone. By the time they returned from Egypt, the medical bed that Atem had laid on for a whole year was gone. The company had taken it back now that they had no more need for it.

All Atem's leftover medicine was given back to the hospital. Yami had also received a sum of money from the government, was it worth losing his brother? Definitely not.

He did not go to school for the rest of the school year. He had failed everything anyways. Aknamkanon had gone to the school and arranged with the principal that Yami would just do the class over the next year. Under unusual circumstances, it was permitted that Yami took the rest of the school year off.

Every morning when he woke up, he expected Atem to be there sitting at the table, scolding him for getting up late and then smiling and eating breakfast with him.

But that never happened. Atem's seat was always empty. Atem's room was always silent. Atem's stuff stayed untouched. Yami slowly started to accept the fact… that Atem was gone and not coming back again.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Author Notes: **The part at the very beginning with seeing Seto crying for the first time, is because I saw so many strong family members just bursting into tears. It just hit me….

My uncles really had placed a knife on my aunt after she passed away. I was told that it prevents the body from bloating up. It is another one of the details that really hit me so that's why I included it in. Apparently in the smaller villages in Turkey, where they don't have morgues, they place a knife on the body to keep it from bloating.

I read that 90% of the Japanese get cremated because it is too expensive to get buried. My aunt was buried in Turkey and not in the Netherlands where we live. It's kind of tradition that we get buried there in our own village. Also, in my religion, embalming is not allowed. A man washes a deceased man and a woman washes a deceased woman. Then the deceased has to be buried as fast as possible. After washing they are not allowed to touch anymore. Actually, they are also not allowed to see anymore but we broke the rules a little. Also, they don't dress them up in clothing. They are wrapped in a white cloth and frankly look like a mummy. This was my first time seeing it.

I once read on the internet that Yami's birthday was March 18. I don't know if it's true but I'll just stick with it.

A bit shorter than my usual 3500 words target but I didn't want to fill it up with crap.

Oh and by the way. This is where the 'non-fiction' stops and the 'fiction' starts. The next chapter is also where the puzzleshipping begin and is the last chapter. Thank you for reading.

R&amp;R


	4. IV Heart

**Chapter title: **Heart**  
****Word count: **3.840**  
****Chapter: **4/4**  
****Chapter summary: **During English class Yami makes a shocking discovery.  
**Chapter warnings: **Mentioned character death  
**Pairings: **Puzzleshipping  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

**This is where it gets completely fictional. You will see no more underlined parts. **

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

_Chapter 4: Heart_

A year had passed already...

Yami was not completely over Atem's passing but he had picked up most of his life. He went back to school and talked to his friends again. They had been incredibly awesome and accepted him with open arms after he had neglected them for such a long time.

The subject of Atem was not talked about again. Only Yami was the one who could start about him.

Yami was kind of bummed that he was not in the same class as his friends anymore. They were all a grade ahead of him now. He was the oldest of his class, albeit not the tallest. He paid little attention to his fellow classmates. It was not like he saw himself above the others, he just felt out of place. The other's all knew each other from past years and he knew none of them. He felt a little left out.

Halfway throughout the year, they had received a new classmate. Yami only knew that his name was Yuugi and that he had similar hair like himself. He had zoned out when Yuugi told why he transferred to Domino high just now. Frankly, he didn't care.

It was November and Yami was listening to his classmates tell them what they were thankful for. The teacher had told them that in November, Americans celebrated a holiday called Thanksgiving. There they would do something something and be thankful to whatever. He had not listened. After getting scolded a couple times for staring out the window and threatened to be send to the principal, he started paying attention.

The students were to give a short presentation in English and say what they were thankful for. A female classmate whose name he had already forgotten bowed slightly and sat back down.

"Yuugi, you're next." His teacher had said.

The boy timidly walked to the front of the class, obviously not in his comfort zone. Now that Yami had a good look at him, he was thin. Really thin and pale-ish. He was definitely shorter than average.

Never did Yami know, that his world would be turned upside down again once the boy opened his mouth.

"I am thankful to a person I never met personally." He said, hand slowly moving to his chest. "He gave me his heart." Gasps were heard from his classmates. "The hospital couldn't give me too much information…." He continued. "All I know is his first name. Atem."

Clattering was heard suddenly. Yuugi gasped softly as he watched Yami run out of the room. His eyes darted around the classroom for any kind of hint of what he did wrong and what made Yami run away. Murmurs washed over the previous silence as the students already started their gossiping.

"You may sit down Yuugi, well done. You're pronunciation was a little off but grammar was good." She said, noting Yuugi's grade down.

"B-but what about–" He was cut off by the teacher.

"It's nothing." She said, ushering him back to his desk. She was aware about Atem, like every other teacher in the school. Yuugi sat down and watched the door, he couldn't quite concentrate on the rest of the presentations. Yami hadn't returned for the rest of the class.

Yuugi had always been a bully magnet because of his small and weak body. He never expected to be cornered during lunch though. Usually they would grab him after school, where there were no witnesses.

"You stole Atem's heart." The one with dirty blond hair had said.

"We're here to take it back." The one with brown hair said.

Yuugi's face contorted into horror. He was expecting knives to cut his heart out like they said but all they did was punch and kick him. What they accomplished by doing this, was beyond Yuugi. He did what he always did when this happened, curl up and let them have their fill before moving on and try to cover up his bruises.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

The boys stopped their abuse and gasped. "Yami!" The blond had called. "I heard about this squirt having Atem's heart."

"And that is a reason to beat the living daylight out of him?!" Yami screamed. Yuugi looked up from the floor to the fierce crimson eyes above. Yami was glaring at the two boys. Yuugi looked away when Yami looked down and caught his eyes.

Yami kneeled down and looked Yuugi over, pulling him up to a sitting position.

"Look what you've done!" Yami sneered at the two boys. "You've made Atem cry!"

Yuugi blinked confused at first. Then he followed Yami's finger to his chest. A little blood had seeped through his white uniform shirt, on his left chest area.

"Come." Yami said with a more gentle voice than he used for the two boys. "Let me take you to the school nurse." He held out his hand. Yuugi took it and was helped to his feet. He dared not look back at the two boys as they walked away, but he figured he would be safe while he was with Yami for now.

It's not like Yuugi didn't know where the nurse's office was, he knew it very well. He would often go there when he got too tired and had to take a small nap or when his medicine's side effects were too heavy.

The nurse quickly took him to a bed and peeled off his shirt. The stitches hadn't opened fortunately, just some of the skin tissue had been damaged.

"I'm sorry for those two." Yami said after the nurse had patched Yuugi back up. "They weren't really thinking."

Yuugi nodded, his eyes cast down.

"Atem is my brother." Yami explained. Yuugi gasped and looked up at Yami, eyes wide. The older teenager was looking incredibly sad. "He died last year."

"Last year I had the transplant…."

"I never even knew Atem was a donor… that kind of explains the scars." Yami said, looking a little distant. "Weird though… I thought people with cancer couldn't be donors…." He trailed off. Yuugi's hand unconsciously moved to his chest.

"Where… did he?" Yuugi asked.

Yami answered by pointing to the spot where Atem's tumor had been.

"If it had been primary, then it usually doesn't spread. If it started somewhere else and spread to the brains afterwards, then he wouldn't have been eligible for donation." The nurse had answered, overhearing their conversation.

"I'm so sorry…." Yuugi whispered, eyes cast down again.

"Don't be, you couldn't have done anything against it." Yami said with a shrug. Yuugi still did not look up. Yami assumed it was because of his shy nature. "Wait here." Yami said, leaving the nurses office for a little while. He came back with his wallet.

"This is Atem." Yami said, showing a picture inside his wallet. Yuugi gasped for the umpteenth time that day.

"He… I… we shared a room for a short while." He said flustered. Yami dropped his wallet.

"W-what?"

"It was around two years ago… back when I was getting my pacemaker." Yuugi told, starting to hug his sides. The nurse's room was a little chilly since his shirt had been taken off. Yuugi saw Yami leave again and thought he had upset the older teen.

However, Yami came back with Yami's spare gym sweatshirt. He handed it to younger boy. Yuugi took it gratefully and pulled it over his head with a little of Yami's assistance. The stitches had started hurting from the bleeding. As expected, the sweatshirt was a little too big for Yuugi.

"Tell me about your meeting with Atem."

Yuugi nodded, fiddling slightly with the overly large sweatshirt. Hey, it was better than nothing.

"At first we didn't talk at al. Then he suddenly asked why I was there. He said that he had a brain tumor and that we were in the same boat because we both had a chance not to come alive out of our surgeries." Yuugi sighed. "Just when I wanted to ask his name, the nurse took him away. I was taken to surgery not long after he went." He finished.

Yami nodded, indicating he was listening. "When we went to Atem's room, it was completely empty and your bed was empty and clean too. Weren't you brought back to your room?" Yami asked.

Yuugi chuckled a little but shook his head. "No, I had to stay at intensive care for a couple days because they wanted to make sure that the pacemaker was going to work properly." Yuugi told.

It was silent then between the two. The nurse had left to give them a little privacy. Yami looked at Yuugi after the boy suddenly started sniffing and sobbing.

"Why are you crying Yuugi?" Yami asked, placing a hand on Yuugi's shoulder.

"I-If I… h-hadn't wished f-f-for a new h-heart… maybe Atem would've… I'm so sorry Yami!"

"No."

Yuugi looked at Yami with bloodshot and confused eyes.

"It's only natural for you to have wished for a new heart Yuugi." Yami said. "Atem… couldn't have been saved no matter what. You however, could be. I am incredibly proud of my brother to have been able to save lives with his death. It feels like… he didn't die for nothing."

Yuugi felt a new batch of tears coming up. Yami saw this so he changed the subject. Talking about Atem still hurt, but it had made him stronger.

"Why did you need a heart transplant?"

"I had cardiomyopathy." Yuugi said.

Yami chuckled. "What's it with diseases having impossible names? My brother had glio-bla-di-bla"

Yuugi let out a small giggle of his own. He found it amazing how Yami could crack a joke at this moment.

"Can you now tell me in simple Japanese? I'm not the brightest of the bunch." Yami said with a smile. Yuugi couldn't help but smile back.

"That's not true! I didn't know either until it was told to me." He assured with a grin. "Oxygen-rich blood couldn't reach my heart. This caused my hearts walls to weaken." Yuugi explained. "I was given a pacemaker with defibrillator to try and regulate my heartbeats and give me a shock might I have a heart attack."

"Did you?" Yami asked, intrigued by Yuugi. Yuugi nodded and showed three fingers.

"I can tell you, they're not pleasant."

"Still, even with a pacemaker my heart got weaker and weaker. I was already on the waiting list for a about a year then…. They had said I was a lost cause without a transplant…. They had wanted to put me to 'sleep' to spare me the pain." He said, using his fingers as quotation marks. "My mother loves me… she really does. She couldn't see me in so much pain so she eventually agreed." Yuugi swallowed the lump in his throat. "Just before they wanted to inject me… a doctor ran in to stop it. He said I had a donor."

"A-and you had agreed to this?"

Yuugi bit his lower lip, hugging his left arm with his right. "It hurt Yami… it really hurt. I couldn't think straight. I regret it every day though." He admitted.

Yami shook his head. "Seems like Atem choose the perfect time to give his last breath, didn't he?" Yuugi nodded. Yami sighed, looking at Yuugi.

"You and Atem look nothing alike, physically. Well… maybe except for hair." Yuugi looked up at Yami again. "But you two share the same heart. Figuratively and literally." Yami placed his hand on Yuugi's heart gently, feeling the rhythmic beat against his palm. "You both have an enormous heart."

"Never apologize about Atem's heart ever again Yuugi. Thanks to you… part of Atem lives on." As Yami said this, he leaned closer and closed his eyes, resting his ear on Yuugi's chest. His hands had moved to Yuugi's arms to steady himself as he listened to the heartbeat. It was so calming to him.

Yuugi blushed brightly as Yami did this. He didn't have the heart to push the older teen away. Hoping no one would walk in on this kind of embarrassing and intimate moment, Yuugi allowed Yami to listen as long as he wanted. He had placed his hands on Yami's shoulders to steady himself as well.

Yami didn't even notice. He was in such a trance by listening to Yuugi's and Atem's heart. The silence was getting a little too anxious for Yuugi. "Y-Yami, y-you can l-listen to it w-whenever you want." Yuugi stuttered.

Yami's eyes shot open and he moved back. A light pink color had dusted his cheeks. "T-thanks. Sorry about that." He said as he scratched the back of his neck. Yuugi smiled at him.

"My pleasure." He said.

"Okay you two, I think you have missed enough of your classes. You two should go back, unless you feel unwell Yuugi?" The nurse asked, having walked back into the infirmary. She looked at the shorter for his answer.

Yuugi shook his head. "I'll be fine." He answered. The nurse handed him his bloodied shirt and waved them off. Yuugi looked at it, they were just a couple splotches, nothing his mother couldn't handle. She would probably get mad at him but he would be safe from the ladle. He hoped.

"I'm sorry if I'm moving a little too fast… but I think my family would love to meet you." Yami said with a pleading smile. Yuugi didn't even have to think about it.

"I would love to meet your family."

"Okay, how about tomorrow? We'll have dinner at my house. Please bring your parents with you too. I would love to meet them."

"I'll have to ask my mom , but it sounds good."

Yami opened his wallet and took out an old receipt from something he bought a couple days ago. He scribbled some numbers on it and handed it to Yuugi. "My number." He clarified. "If you can't tomorrow, call me tonight and we'll arrange something okay?"

"Okay."

-o-o-o-o-o-

It had suited both Yami's and Yuugi's family to have dinner at the Sennen household the next day. Yuugi's mother and grandfather met Yami's father. Experiences were shared and tears were shed. Aknamkanon had immediately taken a liking to Yuugi, finding him adorable for being so shy and modest. Someone deserving of Atem's heart.

Yami and Yuugi told how they met each other. Yami reminded himself to kick Jounouchi's and Honda's butts for hurting Yuugi without a good reason. Or just hurting Yuugi at all.

The following school day, Yami was seen dragging Jounouchi and Honda by their ears. Yuugi did not run away because he knew Yami would protect him. Yami let go of the two boys and turned to them, hands on hips, like an angry mother.

"Apologize." He ordered. Jounouchi winced at the tone.

"We're sorry…." Jounouchi started.

"Yeah… we weren't really thinking." Honda added. Yuugi laughed lightly.

"It's okay…. I forgive you." Yuugi said with a smile. Yami hummed, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Maybe you don't quite share Atem's heart figuratively… Atem would've kicked their asses." Yami said with a chuckle. Jounouchi and Honda looked at each other. How could Yami talk about Atem like that without getting all depressed? They looked back at the two spiky haired teens.

"You know I couldn't do that, I'll probably break my hand trying." Jounouchi and Honda looked back at each other again. Just what had transpired between these two for them to become so familiar with the other in such a short amount of time?

"Probably." Yami said with a smirk. Before Yuugi could retort, he wrapped his arm around Yuugi's shoulder and started to move the shorter boy. "How about we get some lunch?" Yami suggested. Yuugi voiced his approval in form of a hum. The two walked a couple steps before they stopped and turned around.

"You guys coming?" Yami asked, eyebrow raised. Yuugi gave them a sweet smile. Jounouchi shook his head to get out of his stupor and ran with Honda the small distance, falling into step with Yami and possibly their new friend Yuugi. At the cafeteria Yuugi met Anzu and it was an instant friendship.

Yami didn't have much contact with Atem's friends anymore. It had hurt to talk to them since they reminded him of his brother always. It was not like he gave them the cold shoulder, he would only say 'hi' when he saw them and sometimes even make small talk.

After meeting Yuugi, Yami's moods had brightened. He started interacting with his classmates more and his grades got better too. Yami loved hanging out with Yuugi. He had gotten stronger in time but hadn't grown much taller. Because of his weak heart he had a bit of a growth disturbance. But Yami didn't mind, it made Yuugi look cute.

That was another thing Yami noticed. He started thinking Yuugi was cute. His smile when he was happy, his blush when he was embarrassed, his pout when he was angry or upset. He found them all to be adorable. Not to mention those eyes. Those violet pools were just gorgeous.

It didn't take him too long to figure out that he had fallen in love with Yuugi. He never even knew he was interested in the same gender. He looked over at Yuugi, who was lying on his stomach on the bed, glaring at their homework.

Should he confess? He mulled over this question for a while, not aware of Yuugi shaking his shoulder lightly. "Yami?" The voice of his crush brought him back to reality. He loved hearing it. It was masculine but not overly deep.

"What is it Yuugi?"

"You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn't notice the time fly by. You were just staring out in front of you. Kinda creepy." Yuugi said with a chuckle. Yami looked at the clock in Yuugi's room to see it was already after ten.

"Oh, I should probably get going then." Yami said, packing up his belongings.

"I'll see you out." Yuugi said, walking with him to the front door. "You better finish those assignments though, they're quite difficult."

"I will." Yami promised. Yuugi hadn't closed the door yet, watching him. Should he take that leap of faith? Ugh, how did one confess? He really needed Atem's help here.

"Yuugi…." He started. "You know that we have been good friends for a while now…." Yuugi nodded in confirmation. "I think that… Yuugi, I…." He took a deep breath. "I like you Yuugi. As in, like like."

Uh oh… Yuugi was averting his eyes and biting his lower lip. That could not be good.

"Yami…." He said, almost sounding like a groan. Had Yuugi expected this? "You're really a nice guy… but… I don't see us working out…." He said uncertainly, hiding more and more behind the door. Before Yuugi could close it, Yami pushed it back slightly.

"Why?" He asked, hurt lacing his voice.

"I think you only like me because of Atem's heart!" Yuugi blurted out and slammed the door shut. Yami had been so surprised by Yuugi's reasoning that he hadn't been able to find his voice to respond. He faintly heard Yuugi's footsteps as the boy ran back to his room.

Yami leaned against the wall of Yuugi's house. Yuugi… was right.

It was not like he started _liking_ Yuugi because of the heart, he only started _talking_ to Yuugi because of the heart. If Yuugi hadn't said that he had received Atem's heart, he probably wouldn't even give him a second glance.

Yami sighed, running his hand through his hair. He hoped that he hadn't ruined their friendship with this. He knew for sure that Yuugi was going to try and avoid him but he _had_ to talk to Yuugi. He had to try and convince him that he didn't like Yuugi because of Atem's heart. If that didn't work out, try and fix their friendship.

The next day at school, Yuugi turned on his heel and walked away the moment he saw Yami. Fortunately, Yami had longer legs and caught up to him quite quickly.

"We have to talk." Yami said.

"I'd rather not." Yuugi replied.

Against his will, Yami dragged him off to the boy's bathroom and turned the lock of the door.

"Let me go!" Yuugi screamed, wrenching his arm out of Yami's grip.

"Look, Yuugi. I know that you may think like that…. I'll admit it is true that I only hung out with you at the beginning because of Atem. But I came to realize… that the new memories I have made are with you and not with Atem. It doesn't matter if you have Atem's heart or not. Yuugi is and stays Yuugi and there is nothing that can change that." Yami looked to see Yuugi playing with the sleeve of his jacket. A nervous habit he had observed.

"As much as I miss him, and I hate to say this… but Atem isn't ever coming back and I have accepted that. Besides… if I wanted to date you for that, it would be weird. It'd be like I was dating my older brother." He finished with a bit of a chuckle.

"I… don't know."

"Won't you even give me a chance?" Yami pleaded. Yuugi didn't answer. Yami took the silence as rejection so he sighed. "Can we at least stay friends?"

"Okay. I'll give it a shot."

Yami slumped in relief. "Thank you so much Yuugi. I would be devastated if our friendship suffered over this. I–"

"No, Yami. I mean I would like to give it a shot. Us."

Yami blinked a couple of times before the information sunk in. His smile went from ear to ear as he saw the honesty in Yuugi's eyes.

"Yuugi, thank you so much. I promise you won't regret it!" Yami embraced Yuugi, so lovingly, so tender, so relieved. Yuugi wrapped his arms around Yami as well. The two stood there like that for a moment before harsh knocks came from the bathroom door.

A couple curses slipped past Yami's lips as he turned the lock. The teacher in front of him looked not so happy. "You know that locking the door to the toilets is not allowed. Both of you, detention."

Yami slowly turned to look at Yuugi, a sheepish smile on his face. Yuugi laughed and shook his head.

-o-o-o-o-o-

It took a couple of dates before Yuugi started developing feelings for Yami as well. Their families had been surprisingly accepting of their relationship after they told them. Perhaps it was because all they wanted for their family was to be happy after the hardships they had gone through.

Yami had kept his promise. Yuugi never regretted anything. He never regretted giving his first kiss and innocence to Yami. Years later, they were still happily together. Over these years, Yami and Yuugi never forgot about Atem.

How could they? When his heart was pumping life giving fluids through Yuugi?

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Author Notes: **And this concludes the end of this fanfic. The very first idea was Atem dying in a car accident and Yuugi receiving his heart like that. After researching a little more in depth about glioblastoma I found out that since it's a primary tumor, the person can donate their organs. I am happy that I left the Puzzleshipping in.

It kind of felt really good getting all of this off of my chest. I hate having to bottle everything up inside. The same night my aunt passed away, I started pouring out all of my feelings to a reviewer. I have a great new friend though~ You know who you are, you~~ Yes YOU. Her username is **xfallenangel13x **and she is going to write her experiences too. You should read them once she does.

She had gone through a similar situation and what she said was very true. It does make you stronger.

Also, the first ending that I had planned was actually Yami and Yuugi having a child and naming him Atem… but then I started thinking. This story is pretty realistic and mpreg would kinda ruin it. Also, I have conflicting feelings about mpreg. Adopting wouldn't be the same either…. It would not be from their blood so I left the kid out completely and kept it realistic.

Last note, I am stalling Deadly Touch for a little while because I am STUCK. I have started a new fluffy fanfic called 'Sharing is Caring'. What it's about, wait and find out.

Once again, thank you so much for reading. The reviews really touched me to the point I almost cried on the train. Thank you all for the support. I love you all.

R&amp;R


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